Colin McRae's Famous Ford Focus Rally Car To Be Sold At Silverstone

Rally fans will rejoice at some of the legendary cars featuring at this year’s Race Retro Competition Car Sale at next month’s Silverstone Auction. Not only is a going under the hammer, but the famous Ford Focus rally car driven by the late Colin McRae will also be looking for a new owner next month. Specifically, this is the Ford Focus WRC McRae drove during the 1999 World Rally Championship.

In total, the car was driven in 11 rounds of the WRC, four of which were by McRae, before it was sold to a private team and used on national events around Europe.In 1999, McRae and his co-driver Nicky Grist first used the Focus rally car in the fifth round of the season in Spain. It competed in four rallies that year, achieving fourth place in France at the Rally Tour De Corse which was McRae’s best result. The Ford Focus WRC was built in secret and was first introduced in 1999 to replace the Ford Escort WRC car. McRae joined Ford after leaving Subaru in a deal worth £6 million ($8.5 million) over two years.

It’s predominantly based on the road-going Focus powered by a Ford Zetec E 16V turbocharged engine, and recently underwent a full restoration to bring it back to its former glory. Ask anyone to name a rally driver and the first name that comes to mind is invariably Colin McRae,” classic car specialist Adam Rutter said. “He was always a favorite among rally fans but his incredible success also made him a household name. It’s an honor to present this ex-Colin McRae 1999 Ford Focus WRC for sale at our Race Retro Competition Car Sale on 23 February. The atmosphere at our auction will be electric."

It goes without saying that we expect bidding to be flat-out, just like Colin behind the wheel." estimates the car will sell for between £120,000 (around $170,000) and £140,000 (around $199,000) which is a steal when you consider that McRae’ Subaru Impreza sold for a whopping £230,000 (around $327,000) last year.